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BOSTON MEECHANT 

OP 

1745: 

OR, 

INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF 

JAMES GIBSQI^, 

A GBNILEMAN VOLUSIEEK AT THE EXPEDITION TO LOUISBUKG J 



JOURNAL OF THAT SIEGE, NEVER BEEORE PUB- 
LISHED IN THIS COUNTRY. 

BX ONE OF HIS D E>^ £^ Jl A N T S . 



sLw-t^-n-i 3 X) • 7^ iJ""^^wC'|-<t'' 




BOSTON : 
KEDDING AND COMTANY. 

1847. 



Entered according lo act of Congress, in the year 1847, 
by Redding & Co., in the Clerk's Office of the Dis- 
trict Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



^^o,^ 



0^ 



1> 



Boston : 

Printed by S. N. Dickinson & Co. 

52 Washington Street. 



DEDICATION 



TO THE 

congregations 

worshipping in 

"king's chapel" and the "old 

south," also to the young ladies of 

THE "beacon HILL SEMINARY," AND 
THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON GEN- 
ERALLY, IS THIS LITTLE 
WORK RESPECTFULLY 
INSCRIBED. 



INTRODUCTION. 



1. Usually when a book is dedi- 
3ated, it is done " by permission ;" but 
n the present case, the author justifies 
limself in doing on his own respon- 
sibility that which no one would feel 
luthorized to permit or prohibit. 

2. It will doubtless be enough for 
he worshipers at King's Chapel to 
<now that the hero of our story, in 
3oncert with his friend Gov. Shirley, 
ivho laid the corner-stone of that edi- 
ice, was quite as much attached to 
he church as he was to the crown ; 
hat this brought him and his amiable 
md intelligent lady into active mem- 



6 I 

bership with the only " Established 
Church" then existing in the town 
of Boston ; and that his widow sleeps 
in the " old church-yard " contiguous 
to the chapel. 

3. It is a melancholy fact to the 
writer, that, while he succeeds in find- 
ing the graves of his progenitors, he 
can find so little of their history. It 
is from our grandmother, the only 
child of Gibson, that we have the 
manner of his death. She lived to a 
great age. The writer has in his pos- 
session a letter that she wrote in her 
eightieth year, in which she says that 
there is a family in Boston by the 
name of Perkins, who knows all 
about her claims in England, refer- 
ring to property which Parliament 
awarded to her father for services per- 
formed at the capture of Louisburg. 



This letter was dated in 1816. It 
does not mention the given name of 
I Perkins. Tradition in our family as- 
I signs them to the congregation wor- 
I shipping in the " Old South Church." 
I That there was a family in Boston who 
' tenderly cherished the orphan of " Bea- 
|con Hill mansion house,"=^ ever after 
I she went into the family of Rev. Mr. 
Niles of Braintree, we have still further 
I evidence. If the descendants of such 
' a family could be found, perhaps the 
writer, who is on a kind of pilgrim- 
■; age upon the back track of his ances- 
tors, might meet with some facts 
which may be quite gratifying to 
his antiquarian curiosity — which he 

* Near the site of this mansion house the Rev. 
I Hubbard Winslow has located the " Beacon 
Hill Seminary," for young ladies. 



8 

deems laudable, since he is almost 
without a relative in New England, 
belonging either to paternal or mater- 
nal side, and the only male descend- 
ant of Gibson's orphan daughter that 
he knows to be living in the United 
States. 

4. It may appear somewhat singu- 
lar, that the writer should have so lit- 
tie information respecting his imme- 
diate ancestors, living only one or 
two generations back ; but the orphan 
daughter of Gibson dying while he 
was but a boy, and his mother also 
when he was quite young, and hav- 
ing no accessible relatives who can 
afford him any aid in this behalf, he is 
indulging the hope, that, by the cir- 
culation of this little book, he will 
fall in with some point of interest yet 
undiscovered. 



5. If he should not be able to re- 
cover any farther information in this 
country, he does not doubt that the 
generous citizens of Boston will be 
gratified to purchase this book in such 
numbers as to enable him to seek 
among the descendants of the " an- 
cient and honorable family of Gib- 
sons" of the old world the more com- 
plete story of his ancestors. 

After looking through the most 
important libraries in New England, 
the writer became satisfied that he 
had probably the only copy of this 
"Journal of the Siege" in America, 
which is the identical one that Mr. 
Gibson gave to his daughter on his 
return from England. Presuming that 
the Massachusetts Historical Society 
might deem the "Journal" worthy of 

their consideration, it was submitted 
2 



10 



to the Hon. F. C. Gray, Chairman of 
the Publishing Committee, who re- 
turned it with a note from which we 
make the following extract : 

'•' Dear Sir, — The siege of Louis- 
burg is an object of so much impor- 
tance in our provincial history, that 
an authentic journal kept by an oflicer 
engaged in that expedition cannot 
be without interest to our antiqua- 
rians," &c. 



BOSTON MERCHANT 

OF 1745. 



James Gibson was born in London 
about the year 1700, and belonged, so 
says the inscription on his coat of 
arms, " to the ancient and honorable 
family of Gibson, of Cumberland, 
Essex, and London," and relative of 
Edward Gibson, the eminent anti- 
quarian, and Bishop of London. 

When a young man, he held a 
commission in the royal army, which 
was ordered to the island of Barba- 
does. Here he remained some time, 
and married a young and wealthy 
widow, in the month of October, 
1730. The original of the following 
certificate is now in the hands of the 
writer : — 

" These are to certify to whom 
it may concern, that Mr. James 



12 



Gibson and Mrs. Thomazlne Barton, 
widow, of this parish, were joined to- 
gether in the holy state of matrimony, 
according to the canons of the Church 
of England, on the 30th day of Octo- 
ber, 1730, by me, 

Thomas Warren, Curate." 
" Barbadoes, Parish of St. Michael " 

Through this connection, James 
Gibson became possessor of a large 
plantation in the island of Jamaica. 
After a few years, he retired from his 
situation in the army, and remained 
in the West Indies. 

Having often heard of the new 
colonies, and becoming acquainted 
with merchants who visited the islands 
for the purpose of trading, he was in- 
duced to come to New England with 
his lady; and, being pleased with the 
thriving appearance of the northern 
colonies, he brought his wealth and 
family to Boston, and became an ex- 
tensive trader between that place and 



13 



the islands of Barbadoes and Ja- 
maica- 
Mr. Gibson was also a stockholder 
in the enterprise of building Long 
Wharf, and inhabited one of the finest 
buildings then to be seen on Beacon 
Hill.=^ He had but one child, a daugh- 
ter. 

In the year ] 744, war was declared 
between France and Great Britain. 
George 11. was upon the throne, and 
Sir William Shirley, then governor of 
Massachusetts. 

The news reached Cape Breton, by 
a fast-sailing packet, three weeks be- 
fore it was received in Boston; and 
this afforded the French a fine oppor- 
tunity of making incursions into the 



* It will he seen by referring to the Probate 
records, at Boston, that tlic administrator had two 
different times of rendering an invoice of Gib- 
son's estate. In one of them the building referred 
to is called " the mansion house on Beacon Hill, 
Boston." Among other articles, " a brass sword 
and belt, and a silver snuff-box," are mentioned. 



14 



neighboring province of Nova Scotia. 
In this manner, Canso, a small fishing 
town, was taken by surprise ; and the 
inhabitants, and a large number of 
vessels were captured, and taken to 
Louisburg, as prisoners of war. 

These early attacks awakened the 
English colonies to their danger ; and 
it soon became apparent, that Nova 
Scotia, and perhaps all the English 
settlements in North America, de- 
pended on the conquest of Louisburg, 
the strong fortress and capital of Cape 
Breton. 

Some of the colonists, however, in 
defending the town of Anapolis, in a 
second incursion from the French, 
obtained some prisoners, whom they 
exchanged for the inhabitants of Can- 
so, taken in the spring, and who 
brought an accurate account of the 
strena:lh of the fortifications of Louis- 
burg, to Boston. 

From this account. Sir William 
Shirley, governor of Massachusetts, 



15 



conceived the idea of taking the city 
by surprise, before any farther aid 
could be obtained from France. In 
this he was encouraged, particularly 
by those who were engaged in the 
cod fisheries of Massachusetts and 
New Hampshire ; as this branch of 
trade must be utterly suspended, while 
Louisburg remained in the hands of 
the French. 

To obtain the opinion of the Gene- 
ral Court, Sir William, early in Janu- 
ary, requested its members to bind 
themselves, under oath of secresy, to 
receive from him an important com- 
munication. This was complied with, 
and he proposed his plan of attacking 
Louisburg, and asked their consent. 
This was kept a secret for a number 
of days from the public. At last it 
was discovered by an honest deacon, 
whose whole soul was so filled with 
the plan of the expedition, that he in- 
advertently made mention of it at his 
family devotions, by praying for its 



16 



success. The boldness of the propo- 
sal astonished every one. It was re- 
ferred to a committee, who reported 
against it. This report, after some 
debate, was accepted by a considera- 
ble majority, and it was supposed that 
the subject was put to rest. The 
governor, however, was not thus to be 
defeated : he was a man of persever- 
ance as ^vell as decision. James 
Gibson he knew to be a man of 
weighty character, as well as weighty 
purse. 

" After a few days," says Mr. Gib- 
son, " I saw the governor walking 
slowly down King Street, with his 
head bent down, as if in deep study. 
He entered my counting-room, and 
abruptly said, ' Gibson, do you feel 
like giving up the expedition to Louis- 
burg?' 'I wish the vote might be 
reconsidered,' was my reply ; ' for un- 
less the colonies make a bold strike, 
we may all suffer the same fate of 
Canso and Anapolis.' 



17 



" ' You are the very man I need,' 
said the governor, springing from his 
chair. ' I have been thinking, if a pe- 
tition were drawn np and signed by 
the merchants of Boston, asking a 
reconsideration of the whole matter, 
the result would be successful.' " 

Before he left, Sir William had the 
pleasure of seeing the petition drawn 
up and signed by one bold man, and 
before night it was ready for presenta- 
tion. 

The next day it was read in the 
General Court, and another commit- 
tee voted a reconsideration. This 
report was argued two whole days ; 
during which time, its advocates pre- 
sented the prospect of success, and the 
advantages Massachusetts would re- 
ceive from it, the importance of im- 
mediate action, and the certainty that 
they would be amply remunerated by 
Parliament, when it was known to 
his Majesty what proof of loyalty his 
American subjects had given. 



18 



On the other side, it was argued 
with much greater plausibility, that 
the scheme was chimerical, that inex- 
perienced militia could never reduce 
so impregnable a fortress, that by rea- 
son of" fogs and ice the island could 
not be approached at that season of 
the year, that they should incur the 
displeasure of Parliament by such a 
rash undertaking, that the province 
was exhausted by previous cam- 
paigns, and if this were unsuccessful, 
it would prove its utter ruin. The 
question was taken on the 26th of 
January, and the expedition was voted 
by a majority of a single vote ; sever- 
al members who were known to be 
opposed, being absent. No sooner, 
however, was this done than a degree 
of unanimity upon the subject gene- 
rally prevailed ; and those who had 
previously opposed it, like true patriots, 
came forward, and gave their aid in 
carrying it into effect. Never were a 
people more enthusiastic, or enter- 



19 



tained stronger hopes of success, than 
the people of Massachusetts at that 
time. Letters were immediately sent 
to Pennsylvania and other colonies, 
requesting their assistance. 

Governor Shirley soon made proc- 
lamation for raising the necessary 
forces; and measures were taken for 
equipping the small fleet, then owned 
by the province, for the purpose of 
conveying the troops. The governor 
also sent to the commander of the 
British fleet at the West Indies, re- 
questing aid. 

The island of Cape Breton, on 
which Louisburg is situated, consti- 
tutes at present a part of the Province 
of Nova Scotia. It is of triangular 
form, and eighty leagues in circum- 
ference. Its western and northern 
shores are steep, roeky, and inaccessi- 
ble ; while its south-eastern is indented 
with beautiful bays and harbors, safe 
for ships of the largest size. Its soil 
is barren, and a large portion of the 



20 



year the island is either enveloped in 
fog, or locked up with snow and ice. 
Its entire population, at the present 
time, does not exceed 30,000, most of 
whom are engaged in the fisheries, 
and in the coal and lumber trades. 

Louisburg has frequently been call- 
ed the " Dunkirk of America." For 
a description of it, I use the words of 
Dr. Belknan: — "It was two miles 
and a half in circumference, fortified 
in every accessible point, with a ram- 
part of stone, from thirty to thirty-six 
feel high, and a ditch eighty feet wide. 
A space of two hundred yards was 
left without a rampart, on the side 
next the sea, and enclosed by a sim- 
ple dike and pickets. The sea was 
so narrow at this place, that it made 
only a narrow channel, inaccessible, 
from its numerous reefs, to any ship- 
ping whatever. On an island, at the 
entrance of the harbor, which was 
only four hundred yards wide, was a 
battery of thirty cannon; and at the 



21 



bottom of the harbor, directly opposite 
to the entrance, was the ground, or 
royal battery, of twenty-eight, forty- 
two, and eighteen pound cannon. 
On a high clifi, opposite the island 
battery, stood the lighthouse ; and at 
the north-east part of the harbor was a 
magazine for naval stores. 

" The town was regularly laid out 
in squares. The streets were broad, 
and the houses mostly built of wood 
and stone. The entrance to the town 
was at the west gate, over a draw- 
bridge, which was protected by a cir- 
cular battery of cannon. 

" These works had been twenly-five 
years in building, and, though not 
finished, had cost France not less 
than thirty millions of livres. It was 
in peace a safe retreat for the French 
ships bound homeward from the East 
and West Indies ; and in war, a source 
of distress to the northern English 
colonies ; its situation being extremely 
favorable for privateers to seize their 



22 



fishing vessels, and interrupt their 
coasting and foreign trade ; for which 
reasons, the reduction of it is said to 
have been as desirable an object as 
that of Carthage ever was to the Ro- 
mans." 

Such was the place that the people 
of New England proposed to take by 
surprise in 1745. It was, perhaps, as 
impregnable as nature and art could 
make it, and was probably considered 
as safe by France then, as Gibraltar 
is by the English at the present day. 
Its reduction was suggested and ac- 
complished by a train of circumstan- 
ces as remarkable as the event was 
glorious. It was very properly said 
by a writer of the day, that "if, in this 
expedition, any one circumstance had 
taken a wrong turn on the French 
side, it must have miscarried." 

In all this preparation, James Gib- 
son was not an idle spectator. See- 
ing the difficulty of raising volunteers 
from the poor and hard-working men 



23 



of the colony, he also became a volun- 
teer. Already possessing the com- 
mission of captain of the royal army, 
he actually hired a company of three 
hundred men, whose wages he paid 
regularly from his own property. 

Thus four thousand men were raised 
in the several colonies. The time was 
appointed for the fleet to sail. The 
greatest difficulty to be surmounted 
was the appointment of a commander- 
in-chief. This was attended with 
some difficulty, as they v/ere raw sol- 
diers, taken from all the New England 
provinces, and feeling in some degree 
a jealousy of each other. The choice 
at length fell upon William Pepperell, 
of Kittery, then a colonel of the militia, 
and a merchant of good reputation, 
known extensively both in Massachu- 
setts and New Hampshire. 

Before accepting the appointment, 
Pepperell consulted the famousGeorge 
Whitfield, who was then travelling 
through New England, upon its expe- 



24 



diency. Whitfield told him he did 
not think the situation very promising ; 
that the eyes of all would be upon 
him ; that, if it should not succeed, 
the widows and orphans of the slain 
would reproach him ; and if it should 
succeed, many would regard him with 
envy, and endeavor to eclipse his 
glory — that he ought therefore to go, 
with a single eye, and then he would 
find his strength proportioned to his 
necessity." After some time he 
gave a motto for the flag, which was 
" Nil desperandum, Christo duce," 
thereby giving the expedition an air 
of a crusade. It is said that a large 
number of the followers of Whitfield 
enlisted ; and as a proof of the reli- 
gious feeling by which they were ac- 
tuated, one of them, a clergyman, car- 
ried upon his siioulder a hatchet for 
the purpose of destroying the images 
in the French churches. 

Few men could leave their families 
under more trying circumstances than 



25 



James Gibson. Without a single 
relative in North America, nearer 
than the West Indies, his wife was 
to endure alone the suspense of this 
hazardous and doubtful expedition, 
and remain behind with her little 
daughter in Boston. But, in the midst 
of present trial or future solicitude, 
the firm hearts of the colonists did 
not quail. Under these circumstances, 
on the 25th of March, Mr. Gibson 
took leave of his family, of his tender 
and confiding wife and child, and 
joined the troops which on that day 
left Boston for the island of Nan- 
tucket, the rallying point of the expe- 
dition. 

The fleet sailed from Nantucket 
with 4,300 men, 4,000 being furnished 
by the colonies, and 300 by Mr. Gib- 
son. After a prosperous voyage, it 
appeared in view of the little town of 
Canso. As it was yet in the early 
spring, the ice rendered the bay im- 
passable, and they were thus pre- 
3 



26 



vented from landing at the intended 
point. In this hour of perplexity, 
Commodore Warren, the commander 
of the British troops at the West In- 
dies, unexpectedly arrived with a 
man-of-war, to their assistance. This 
aid inspired the army with new cour- 
age, and elated them with a prospect 
of success. On the 29th of April, the 
ice having broken up, the fleet sailed 
for Louisburg, a distance of about 
sixty miles, where they arrived the 
next morning. 

This was the first notice to the in- 
habitants of Louisburg of the intend- 
ed invasion. 

An alarm was instantly given, and 
our fleet was ushered into the bay by 
a ringing of bells and discharge of 
cannon. A detachment of 150 men 
were sent to oppose their landing, 
but were soon repulsed by the New 
Englanders, who without further mo- 
lestation landed their troops and mili- 



27 



tary stores, about four miles below 
the city. 

On the following night, two mer- 
chants from the Colonies — James 
Gibson and Captain Vaughan, with 
400 men, marched through the woods 
and round the hills, to the northeast- 
ern part of the harbor, and burned 
many large warehouses containing a 
quantity of wine and brandy, making 
a fine beacon light. 

This siege continued forty-eight 
days, and was carried on by undis- 
ciplined colonists against a well- 
trained army, and a fortification 
stronger than almost any in the 
world. 

Of the events of this siege, in 
which our army gained a glorious 
triumph, Mr. Gibson kept a regular 
Journal, which was published after- 
ward at London, and a copy pre- 
sented to King George. A notice of 
this Journal appeared in a contem- 
porary number of the " Gentleman's 



28 



Magazine,"^ a periodical which has 
been continued for upward of 200 
years. 

This Journal has never been re- 
printed in America. After search- 
ing through the principal libraries of 
New England, we are certain that 
few persons have ever seen it in this 
country. 

We have learned of late that soci- 
eties are seeking to obtain more ex- 
tended information respecting this 
expedition, and therefore give this 
Journal entire to our readers. 



* The " Gentleman's Magazine " is regarded 
as the greatest periodical in the English lan- 
guage. Copies of it, for nearly two hundred 
years, are to be seen in the Boston Athenaeum. 
Several notices of Gibson and his Journal are 
to be found in this work. The one alluded to 
above is in the 15th volume, page 649. 

By calling on S. G. Drake, Esq., the indefati- 
gable proprietor of the Antiquarian Bookstore 
on Cornhill, the reader can see the original copy 
of the following Journal. 



JOURNAL 



LATE SIEGE 



TROOPS FROM NORTH ABIERICA, 



THE FRENCH AT CAPE BRETON, THE CITY OF 

LOUISBURG, AND THE TERRITORIES 

THEREUNTO BELONGING. 

SURRENDEEED TO THE ENGLISH, ON THE 1 7tH 

OF JUNE, 1745, AFTER A SIEGE OF 

FORTY-EIGHT DAYS. 

BY JAMES GIBSON, 

GENTLEMAN VOLUNTEER AT TUE ABOVE SIEGE. 



LONDON : 

FEINTED FOR J. NEWBURT, AT THE BIBLE AND SON, 
IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. 

MDCCXLV. 



r-tr 



DEDICATION 

To the Commissioned Officers of the Troops at the 
late Siefje against the City of Louishurg, and the 
Territories thereunto belonging in North America. 

My Dear Brethren and Fellow Soldiers, 

Pursuant to your request, I here 
present you with a Journal which I 
kept whilst the siege was laid against 
the city above mentioned. If it should 
contribute in the least to your plea- 
sure in the recollection of that signal 
victory which you obtained, by the 
blessing of God, through your great 
courage and good conduct, over your 
enemies at Cape Breton, or be of 
service to you in any other respect 
whatever, I shall not think my labor 
ill bestowed. 

Gentlemen, as you voluntarily left 
your families, your fortunes, your oc- 
cupations, and whatever else you held 



32 



most dear, to enter the field in the 
service of your country against the 
strong holds of a potent enemy ; 
against a well-walled and well-gar- 
risoned city; against strong batteries, 
in short, and large cannons, I heartily 
congratulate you on your good suc- 
cess, and doubt not but your heroic 
achievements will be transmitted down 
with honor to latest posterity. 

In regard to the poor soldiers, who 
left their families and their respective 
callings for no other consideration 
than fourteen shillings sterling per 
month, besides the prospect of a little 
plunder, as occasion offered, of which 
they were disappointed, — I hope they 
will be taken care of, and meet with 
a reward in some measure propor- 
tioned to their service and their merit ; 
since their disappointment was wholly 
owing (as you are sensible) to our 
generous treatment of the enemy, 
even when we had secured our con- 
quest ; for, by the terms of capitula- 



33 



tion, the French were not only al- 
lowed to carry off all their effects 
without the least molestation, but 
were transported at our expense to 
Old France, insomuch that the sol- 
diers, as I before hinted, had no op- 
portunity of making any advantage 
of their good success, which other- 
wise they might have considerably 
improved. 

The place, gentlemen, which we 
have thus happily made our own, 
may with propriety be called the Icey 
of Canada and North America. The 
island is near a hundred miles long ; 
and has several fine harbors in it, very 
commodious for the fishery, whereof 
that at Louisburg is the principal. 
The city is not only well walled, but, 
as it has several wide trenches and 
flankers, it may properly be said to 
be completely garrisoned. There is 
likewise a very grand battery, directly 
opposite to the mouth of the harbor, 
the ordnance whereof consists of 



34 



above thirty pieces of cannon, all forty- 
two pounders. 

The Island Battery, moreover, 
which is planted at the mouth of the 
harbor, is of equal strength and force. 

Opposite to the Island Battery there 
is also a very fine and commodious 
light-house, as well as a noble harbor 
for the largest ships. 

Near the shore and grand banks, 
which are about twenty leagues' dis- 
tance, there are fish in abundance. 
As to the climate, it is exceeding fine 
for curing fish, and rendering them fit 
for a foreign market. Here are mack- 
erel and herrings in plenty, both fat 
and large, for baits. 

The land here produces very good 
wheat, rye, and barley ; and the mead- 
ows, the best of grass. Besides these 
commodities, here are fine beach 
wood and flake for the mutual bene- 
fit of the industrious fisherman and 
the farmer. 

This port commands not only Cape 



35 



Sable Shore, Canco, and Newfound- 
land, but the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
and, by consequence, Canada. It is 
a safeguard likewise to the whole 
fishery, as well as to foreign vessels. 

I have been informed by a French 
gentleman, that the settlement of the 
island of Gaspey cost his Most Chris- 
tian Majesty nine million and a half 
of money ; and, since the war com- 
menced, the repairs that have been 
made to all the several batteries have 
been attended with great expense. 
As to my own particular part, no 
sooner was the expedition proposed at 
Boston in New England by the gov- 
ernment, but I instantly promoted the 
same; and through my means some 
hundreds entered into the service. 

And as I had the honor to bear his 
Majesty's commission in the royal 
regiment of foot guards in Barba- 
does, by virtue of that commission 
I voluntarily engaged in this expedi- 
tion, without the least pay or allow- 



36 



ance for my service or provision 
during tiie whole siege. And no 
sooner was it over, but I assisted in 
the transportation of the French in- 
habitants to Old France ; having 
passed my word to proceed in a 
transport both to France and Eng- 
land. Give me leave here to remind 
you of my readiness to serve this ex- 
pedition in all respects. You remem- 
ber, I doubt not, the tedious marches 
which I made after the enemy, and 
the imminent danger I was in at the 
north-east harbor, which is about ten 
miles from the grand battery, where, 
with four men only, I was loading a 
schooner with plunder. Whilst we 
were busy in the house where our 
cargo lay, no less than a hundred and 
forty French and Indians, with a 
shout, fired a volley against it; where- 
upon two of the men jumped out of 
the window, and were shot dead, 
even after they had cried out quarter. 
After this, though the French and In- 



37 



dians entered the house, ihe two other 
men and myself so happily concealed 
ourselves as that we were not dis- 
covered. Some short lime after, they 
withdrew, and we made our escape to 
the grand battery, though with great 
fatigue ; for we were forced to take to 
a thick wood, and run through great 
swamps, not daring to appear in the 
road, for fear of surprise. At last, 
God be thanked, we arrived safe at 
the grand battery, and received the re- 
peated congratulations of our friends 
on account of our happy deliverance, 
which was looked upon as almost 
miraculous. 

I hope, gentlemen, I shall not be 
thought vain in making mention of 
one other dangerous exploit, in which 
likewise I came off with success. 

At about two o'clock in the morn- 
ing, with the assistance of but five 
men, I carried a fire-ship under the 
guns of the city batteries to the 
King's Gate, where I set fire to the 



38 



train ; and so quick was the effect of 
it, that I lost my breath till I got upon 
deck. After this, we went in our 
boat under the guns of the circular 
battery, before we could go over to the 
west side of the harbor, for fear of 
being discovered by the fire. The 
French, indeed, fired several times at 
us ; but we happily received no dam- 
age. We arrived safe soon after, at 
the grand battery ; and no sooner had 
the fire took the powder, but it tore 
up the decks of the ship, and threw 
such a quantity of stones into the 
city, that they not only broke down a 
large spire of the King's Gate, but 
the end of a large stone house, and 
burnt three small vessels, &c., besides. 
As the morning was very dark, the 
inhabitants were strangely surprised 
at such an unexpected act of hostility. 
I have nothing further to add, but that 
I have prefixed to this Journal a Plan 
of the city, the garrisons, the harbor, 
and light-house, &c., which I hope 



39 



will meet with a favorable reception 
from you, and be thought at the same 
time an acceptable service to the pub- 
lic. As to what batteries shall here- 
after be thought necessary to be built, 
or what repairs ought immediately to 
be made to those that are still stand- 
ing, I hope a true and faithful account 
thereof will speedily be delivered in 
to those whom it may more immedi- 
ately concern, and that proper persons 
who are well wishers to their king and 
country may be appointed, as soon as 
conveniently may be, to put the same 
in execution. I am, with all due re- 
spect, gentlemen, 

Your humble servant, 

James Gibson. 

Dated July 3,1745, in Louishurg Ilarhor, on hoard 
the Speedwell, hound for France with French inhah- 
itunts. 

P. S. I shall here take the liberty 
to transcribe a letter verbatim, which 
I received from Major William Hunt. 



40 



Royal Grand Battery of King George tlie Second, 
at Cape Breton, in North America, July itk, 1745. 

Capt. James Gibson, — 

I do, in behalf of myself and others, 
the commissioned officers, return you 
hearty thanks for the copy of your 
Journal during the siege against the 
city of Louisbourg, at Cape Breton ; 
and as you are going to France with 
the French inhabitants, and so for Eng- 
land, we wish you success, and that 
you may, for your charge and cour- 
age, have great encouragement, as 
you did so voluntarily proceed in the 
above expedition at your own ex- 
pense. I am, sir, 

Your most humble servant, 

William Hunt, Major. 



A 

JOURNAL 

OF THE 

SIEGE OF THE CITY OF LOUISBURG. 



Tuesday, April 80th, 1745. 

This day our men of war, priva- 
teers and transports, arrived safe at 
Caboruch Bay in Cape Breton, from 
Canco, where we lay from the second 
day of this instant April, to the 2Sth, 
at which time we anchored within 
five miles of the city of Louisburg. 

No sooner were our whale boats 
got out in order to land our troops, 
but Capt. Morepang came down from 
the city with fourscore and seven 
men to prevent their attempt. Our 
privateers, however, lying at anchor 
4 



42 



near the shore, fired smartly at them ; 
and in the mean time we landed 
some hundred of men, who went in 
pursuit of the enemy. We killed six 
of them, and took five prisoners, and, 
in short, totally beat them off. Nay, 
more, we prevented them from get- 
ting into the city, and obliged them to 
fly for shelter into the woods. 

Wednesday^ May 1. Our troops 
marched towards the grand battery, 
and set fire to ten houses, the inhabi- 
tants being fled into the city. The 
flames so surprised the soldiers in the 
aforesaid battery, that both they and 
their captain (one Carey by name) 
made the best of their way by water 
into the city; whereupon several of 
our companies took possession of the 
place, and at daybreak hoisted up 
King George's flag. 

Thursday^ 2. The French, perceiv- 
ing the English flag hoisted up, fired 
shot and bombs from the island bat- 
tery, and all the other batteries in the 



43 



city, against the grand battery inces- 
santly, day and night, but to no pur- 
pose, for they all went over us. 
Wherever they saw two or three men 
together, they would send a bomb or 
a parcel of shot after them. The 
guns which we found in the grand 
battery were plugged, and their car- 
riage wheels, &c., cut by the French. 

Friday, 3. The city and batteries 
fired smartly all day and night with 
bombs and cannon against the grand 
battery. One of our guns being 
drilled, we fired into the city ; and 
the first shot, being unexpected, killed 
fourteen men. 

Saturday, 4. The city batteries, 
&c., played as fast as possible with 
bombs and cannon against our grand 
battery. As we had two of our guns 
drilled, we fired against the city with 
good effect; for we took St. John's 
and St. Peter's, and burnt them. We 
took likewise about tw^enty prisoners; 
but the others made their escape im 



44 



the woods. We took, moreover, sev- 
eral small vessels and some plunder. 

Sunday^ 5. The French fired but 
a few guns and bombs against us. 
This day the first Protestant sermon 
was preached in the mass-house at 
the grand battery. The text was 
taken out of the iOOth Psalm, verses 
4 and 5. In the evening we fired 
smartly against the city with our two 
pieces of cannon. 

Monday, 6. Our company, consist- 
ing of ninety-six men, marched to 
the north-east harbor, which was ten 
miles from the grand battery, and 
drove the inhabitants into the woods. 
Our grand battery, having several 
guns drilled, fired smartly against the 
city and island battery : they, however, 
fired but seldom at us. 

Tuesday, 7. Our scout at the 
north-east harbor loaded a schooner 
with plunder, and a shallop with ex- 
cellent fish. Though the city and 
other batteries fired smartly against 



45 



the grand battery, yet they did no 
damage. We, on the other hand, 
having several guns drilled, fired 
smartly against the city and island 
battery, and every gun did execu- 
tion. 

Wednesday, 8. The grand battery 
fired all day against the island bat- 
tery and city, with good effect; the 
city and other batteries, hovv^ever, 
fired but seldom at us. One of our 
guns happened 1o split, by which ac- 
cident one of our men was hurt. 

T/ivrsdajj, 9. Our grand battery, 
having twenty guns drilled, and their 
carriages repaired, fired smartly against 
the city and island battery. We saw 
several shots go through the roofs of 
three houses; as also several chim- 
neys, and the ambeseers of the bat- 
teries knocked down. 

Friday, 10. A small scout of twen- 
ty-five men got to the north-east har- 
bor. I and four more being in a house 
upon plunder, 140 French and In- 



46 



djans came down upon us firet, and 
fired a volley, with a great noise. 
Two jumped out of the window, and 
were shot dead. With great difficulty 
the other two and myself got safe to 
the grand battery. They afterwards 
killed nineteen of the remaining 
twenty. 

Satvrdai/, 11. A company this 
day marched to the north-east harbor, 
and buried ihe men that were killed 
yesterday. They burnt likewise every 
house in the place, wilh the mass- 
house, fish stages, and warehouses. 
They destroyed, moreover, about 100 
shalloways, and took forty prison- 
ers. The grand battery fired smartly 
against the city. 

Sunday^ 12. Not one gun fired 
from the island battery this day. The 
grand battery, however, and our other 
batteries fired smartly against the city 
to very good effect ; for not a gun 
was returned. We had a sermon in 
the mass-house at the grand battery. 



47 



The text was taken from the 27ih 
verse of the ninth chapter of the He- 
brews : ' And it is appointed unto 
men once to die, but after this the 
judgment. So Christ was once of- 
fered to bear the sins of many ; and 
unto them that look for him shall he 
appear the second time without sin 
unto salvation.' 

Monday^ 13. At three o'clock this 
afternoon, a large French snow came 
round the light-house, the wind being 
east-norlh-east. She was obliged to 
run into the harbor of Louisburg. 
Though our grand battery and other 
battery fired at her, yet she kept 
close aboard the island battery and 
the city, till she grounded against the 
King's Gate. This vessel came from 
France, laden with stores for the fish- 
ermen. This was the only vessel that 
got in after we had taken possession 
of the grand battery. The city and 
island battery fired as fast as possible 
against the grand b ittery till the snoxr 



48 

grounded. At night we got a large 
schooner, filled with combustibles, put 
a small sail on her, and carried her 
between the island battery and the 
city. So soon as the fire took the 
train, the French fired from the city 
and island battery against the schoon- 
er, and the grand battery, no less 
than thirty shot. One of our men 
was killed by landgrage, and several 
were wounded. Our gunner like- 
wise was killed at our fascine battery, 
through the misfortune of a gun's 
splitting. 

Tuesday, 14. There was a north- 
east storm of wind and rain this day. 
The city fired smartly against our 
fascine battery. Our batteries, on the 
other hand, fired against the city with 
good effect. In order to prevent the 
loading of our guns at the fascine bat- 
tery, the French fired small arms, as 
soon as we had discharged our cannon ; 
but they did no manner of execution. 
Wednesday, 15. This day the city 



49 



fired several bombs and guns against 
our fascine battery. We fired twenty- 
eight guns and several bombs, which 
did great execution in the city ; for 
they broke down the wall of the cir- 
cular battery and the ambuseers. 

Thursday, 16. Our artillery from 
the Green Hill threw above fifty 
bombs and balls into the city, which 
drove down chimneys and roofs of 
houses. The city, indeed, fired 
smartly ; but not a gun was heard 
from the island battery. Two of our 
guns at the grand battery split, by 
which misfortune two of our men 
were wounded. 

Friday, 17. Captain Rouse con- 
voyed six transports from Boston with 
four months' provision for our land 
army. Capt. Gayton, likewise, ar- 
rived from Boston with military 
stores. The city fired smartly all 
day against our fascine battery, and 
the island battery threw three bombs 
against the grand battery. W& 
5 



50 



dragged several forty-two pounders 
from the grand to the fascine battery, 
notwithstanding it was two miles dis- 
tant, and the way rough. 100 French 
went out of the city by water, and 
landed at the back of the light-house, 
in order to cut off our men ; but as 
we were apprised of their inten- 
tion, we engaged them, killed three, 
wounded several, and took the cap- 
tain of their company prisoner. One 
of our Indian friends was hurt very 
much by the splitting of one of our 
guns. 

Saturday, 18. The city fired as 
fast as possible against our fascine 
battery and artillery at the Green 
Hill. We, on the other hand, shot 
several of the French with our small 
arms, at the city wall from our fas- 
cine battery, as it was but twenty- 
five roods' distance. 

Sunday, 19. This day a sad acci- 
dent happened at our fascine battery. 
Two barrels of powder took fire, and 



51 



killed seven of our men. Though all 
our batteries fired smartly against the 
city, yet the island battery did not 
fire a gun for several days ; and 
the last shells they threw were half 
filled with bran; from whence we 
might reasonably conjecture, that they 
grew short of powder. We had a 
sermon preached to-day, and the text 
was the 11th verse of the 17th chap- 
ter of Exodus: 'And it came to pass 
when Moses held up his hand, that 
Israel prevailed ; and when he let 
down his hand, Amalek prevailed.' 

Monday^ 20. Two French ships 
and a snow were taken and sent into 
Caboruch Bay. Commodore War- 
ren and the other ships are still out in 
chase of a man-of-war. The city 
fired all day against our fascine bat- 
tery. All our batteries fired so smartly 
against the city, that some of the 
ambuseers on the south side were 
beaten down at the circular battery. 
200 of our men marched on a scout 



52 



to the north-east harbor. Captain 
Fletcher sent his boat ashore to take 
in water, ten were killed, and four 
escaped. 

Tuesday, 21. This day the scout 
of 200 men returned to the grand 
battery, and- brought with them a 
French doctor, and seven other cap- 
tives, having first burned the mass- 
house, and all the other houses ; as 
also destroyed a considerable num- 
ber of fishing shallops and the fish 
stages. Commodore Warren sent 
in the French man-of-war that had 
been chased for several days. She is 
a fine new ship of sixty-four guns, 
called the Vigilant, and laden with 
stores, a great number of large guns, 
and a large quantity of powder, be- 
sides stores for the city of Louisburg, 
and other stores for a seventy-gun 
ship which is building at Canada. 
A large brigantine arrived this day 
from France, and came into our fleet 
through mistake, as the weather was 



53 



very foggy. She was laden with 
brandy and stores. A scout of 200 
men marched out after some hund- 
reds of French and Indians who were 
coming down, as we heard, upon our 
camp. The scout returned, the ene- 
my moving off, and brought in seven 
cows and several calves and goats, 
&c. Our small battery, with two 
pieces of cannon, fired on the city, 
and did great execution ; and notwith- 
standing our other battery fired smartly 
against the city with good effect, yet 
the city did not return a gun ; neither 
had the island battery fired a gun for 
several days. At the King's Wharf, 
we found thirty pieces of cannon 
sunk, from six to twelve pounders. 
This is the place where the men-of- 
war heave down. It is a long wharf, 
that is planked for spreading and 
mending of sails ; and a large ship 
may lie along side of it. The Vigi- 
lant lost sixty men ; wc, only five. 
Wednesday, 22. This day the city 



54 



fired as quick as possible against ns ; 
we, on the other hand, shot several of 
the French who were on the city wall, 
with our small arms from the fascine 
battery ; and, as the French gunner 
was luckily killed likewise in the city 
by another shot, they hoisted their 
flags half mast upon that occasion. 
This day a fifty-gun ship joined our 
fleet. 

Thursday, 23. This day a great 
number of our men were busily em- 
ployed in furnishing near fifty of our 
whale boats with paddles, ladders, 
&c. ; and, about twelve o'clock, 500 
men of the land army and marines 
embarked from on board the man-of- 
war, with a view of making them- 
selves masters of the island battery ; 
but at that time there arose such a 
prodigious fog, that they could not see 
where to land, notwithstanding they 
were in the nut of the shore. When 
it began to clear up, they were obliged 
to draw ofl", though at that time there 



65 

were but fourteen men in the island 

battery. , . , 

Fridaij, 24. The fleet this day ap- 
pearing off the mouth of the harbor, 
made a gallant show. At night, five 
of our men and myself went on board 
a ship which we first filled with com- 
bustibles, and then carried her under 
a small sale by the iron battery till we 
had grounded her against the Kmg's 
Gate belonging to the city. No soon- 
er was the train set on fire, but the 
city fired smartly against us; and 
when we took boat, we were obliged 
to row under the mouth of their can- 
non, till we got on the western side 
of the harbor. This fire-ship did as 
much execution as we could rea- 
sonably expect; for it burnt three ves- 
sels, and not only beat down the pm- 
nacle of the King's Gate, but great 
part of a stone house in the city ; and, 
as this was transacted in the dead of 
the night, it put the inhabitants into 
an uncommon consternation. 



56 

Saturday, 25. This day the fascine 
battery fired smartly against the city 
wall, and not only beat down a great 
part of it, but much damaged the cita- 
del, which gave us great hopes of 
success. The city, indeed, in return, 
fired both their cannon and their small 
arms against the said battery, but to 
little or no effect. 

Sunday, 26. This day, a scout, con- 
sisting of 153 men besides myself, 
marched to the west-north-west part 
of this island, which is twenty-five 
miles' distance, or thereabouts, from 
the grand battery. We found two 
fine farms upon a neck of land that 
extended near seven miles in length. 
The first we came to was a very hand- 
some house, and had two large barns, 
well finished, that lay contiguous to it. 
Here, likewise, were two very large 
gardens ; as also, some fields of corn of 
a considerable height, and other good 
lands thereto belonging, besides plen- 
ty of beach wood and fresh water. 



•57 



In this house we took seven French- 
men and one woman, prisoners. It 
was not much more than five hours 
before our arrival, that 140 French 
and Indians had been killing cattle 
here, and baking bread, for provis- 
ions in iheir march against our men, 
who were at that time possessed of 
the light-house. These were the very 
same band, or company, that mur- 
dered nineteen of our men at the 
north-east-harbor on the 10th instant, 
and shot the two men that jumped 
out of the window, as is more partic- 
ularly mentioned in the article of 
that day. At that unhappy juncture 
they took one Sergeant Cockrin pris- 
oner ; and notwithstanding he had 
made it his whole study from that 
time to humor and oblige them, yet, 
after a dance this day, they fell upon 
him, and in a most barbarous manner 
cut off the ends of his fingers ; after 
that, they slit them up to his hand. 
When this scene of cruelty was over, 



58 



they entered upon a new one ; and in 
the first place cut off the tip of his 
tongue, and in an insuhing manner 
bid him speak English; after that, 
they cut off some part of his flesh, and 
made one of his fellow-prisoners eat 
it ; they then cut his carcass up like 
a parcel of inhuman butchers, and, to 
show their last marks of malice and 
resentment, threw it into the sea. 

The other house was a fine stone 
edifice, consisting of six rooms on a 
floor, all well finished. There was a 
fine walk before it, and two fine barns 
contiguous to it, with fine gardens 
and other appurtenances, besides sev- 
eral fine fields of wheat. In one of the 
barns there were fifteen loads of hay, 
and room sufficient for three score 
horses and other cattle. At our de- 
parture from the first farm, we set all 
we left behind us on fire ; and turn- 
ing back, at a small distance, we saw 
some hundreds of the enemy hover- 
ing round the flames. We likewise 



59 



set fire to, and reduced the last farm 
as well as the first to ruins. Here 
we took three men in a boat which 
was laden with provisions and sailing 
down to the city of Louisburg. This 
last house was situated on the mouth 
of a large salmon fishery which was 
some few roods wide ; and, about half 
a mile above it, there was a large 
pond of fresh water, which was near 
four miles over. 

Monday, 21. This day we returned 
with our scout, consisting of 154 men, 
to the grand battery, all well, and in 
high spirits. At twelve o'clock our 
whale-boats were well fixed with lad- 
ders ; and two hundred men at least, 
if not more, attempted to scale the 
walls of the island battery. The 
French discovered the same; and as 
soon as our boats came near to shore, 
the French fired their large cannon 
loaded with landgrage, which des- 
troyed several of our boats as well as 
our men. Those that actually landed 



60 

fought till sunrise, and then called for 
quarter. Out of the number that 
went to the island batlery, 154 of our 
men were missing. By two that de- 
serted from the French, we were in- 
formed that 118 of our men were 
taken and carried prisoners into the 
city ; so that in that bold attempt we 
lost only six and thirty men. The 
French who were at that time in the 
battery, were between 300 and 400. 

Tuesday, 28. This day, not only 
the grand battery, but our other bat- 
teries, fired smartly on the city. We 
saw the shot beat down several chim- 
neys, and go through the roofs of sev- 
eral houses. This day a scout of 400 
men marched towards Scatteree, upon 
information that a great number of 
French and Indians were marching 
towards our camps in order to cut 
them off. As our scout was march- 
ing down a hill at the north-east har- 
bor, they came ail on a sudden upon 
160 French and Indians, who, in a 



61 



great conslernation, ran up another 
hill that was full of trees and fortified 
with rocks. As our people were only 
in an open garden, as it were, the 
French and Indians fired smartly at 
them; but, notwithstanding their ad- 
vantageous situation, we killed thirty- 
seven and wounded forty-one, as we 
were informed by the French cap- . 
tain's wife, whom we had taken pris- 
oner : and they killed only ten of ours. 
The French and Indians made off in 
such a hurry, that they did not stay to 
bury their dead. This was the same 
company that was at the west-north- 
west neck of land on Sunday the 
26th instant. We took their shallo- 
ways laden with provisions, &c. 

Wednesday, 29. This day our 
scout, consisting of 400 men, marched 
to Scatteree, where we burnt several 
houses, and took six men and three 
women prisoners. Scatteree is about 
twenty miles from the grand battery. 
Last night we (for I was amongst 



62 



them) lodged in the woods. The 
French and Indians drew off. Our 
batteries fired smartly against the city. 

Thursday, 30. This day our scout 
above mentioned of 400 men returned 
to the grand battery, well and in high 
spirits, &c. 

Friday, 31. Rain and fog. Not 
a gun was fired this day on one side 
or the other. 

Saturday, June 1. This day our 
batteries played smartly against the 
city with their bombs and cannon. 
The island battery did not fire a gun 
for several days together, and the city 
but a few. 

Sunday, 2. Last night we raised a 
great part of a new battery at the 
light-house. Two hundred men were 
at work upon it. The French at the 
island battery, when they saw it in the 
morning, were not only surprised, but 
so incensed at the progress our men 
had made, that they fired as fast as pos- 
sible with their bombs and cannon 



63 



upon them, and obliged them to draw 
off. One flanker of this battery fronts 
the sea, and the other is directly op- 
posite to the island battery ; so that 
we can sweep the platform of the 
island battery, and command all the 
shipping that goes in or comes out. 
The French laid a boom from the 
east battery to that of the west, in or- 
der to prevent any of our fireships 
from annoying the city, or any of 
our boats from landing. We had a 
sermon on the following words : * Pre- 
pare to meet thy God, O Zion I ' 

Monday, 3. This day a vessel ar- 
rived from Boston with a large mor- 
tar piece, which was landed, and 
drawn to the light-house battery. 
We had advice from the captain that 
1,000 men were voluntarily raised to 
reinforce our troops here ; and that 
we might expect them very soon. 
We had farther advice that the French 
fleet of men-of-war were stopt at Brest 
by our English men-of-war. We 



64 



had moreover 600 barrels of powder 
arrived from Boston, besides stores 
for the army. This supply of ammu- 
nition came very opportunely; for we 
had not powder sufficient for any 
more than four rounds at the grand 
battery. This put new life and spirits 
into all of us. 

Tuesday, 4. This day we fired our 
cannon and bombs against the city. 
Both of our mortars proved so defec- 
tive, that it was not thought safe to 
make use of them any more. Where- 
upon a privateer-snow was sent im- 
mediately to Annapolis for a fresh 
supply. We heard such a great num- 
ber of guns fired at sea, that we con- 
cluded there was a smart engage- 
ment between our men-of-war and 
the French. 

Wednesday, 5. Last night was 
taken and brought in a French ship 
of fourteen carriage guns, and above 
300 ton, laden with beef, pork, butter, 
cheese, pease, beans, brandy, salt, and 



65 



other stores for the fishery. This was 
the sliip, it seems, which we heard in 
the engagement yesterday. The fas- 
cine battery played smartly with their 
bombs and cannon, and lo very good 
effect. In the morning, the French 
drank to us from the city wall, we 
being so near that we could speak to 
each other. 

Thursday^ 6. This day the French 
prisoners that were taken in the Vig- 
ilant, and some others who were 
made captives by land, were carried 
on board Captain Gayton, and seve- 
ral other transports, and the prizes 
bound for Boston, being in number 
upwards of 1,000 men, 

Friday, 7. This day the prizes 
and prisoners set sail for Boston, un- 
der the convoy of Capt. Gayton and 
Snelling. Our battery fired smartly. 

Saturday, 8. This day we sent a 

flag of truce to the governor of the 

city of Louisburg, with a letter from 

the captain who was taken in the 

6 



66 



Vigilant man-of-war, wherein he gave 
advice that both he and his men were 
treated in a handsome manner by the 
English, and desired to know the rea- 
son why the English did not meet 
with the like civil treatment and good 
quarters at the north-east-harbor and 
island battery, when requested. 

Sunday, 9, Two Switzers last 
night deserted the French guards in 
the city, and came to our grand bat- 
tery, who informed us that there was 
no meat to be had in all the city ; and 
that the French subsisted wholly on 
salt fish, bread and peas. They as- 
sured us likewise, that there were but 
about 100 barrels of powder left for 
all their batteries. To this they added, 
that the first gun that we drilled and 
fired from the grand battery killed 
fourteen of their men. This day our 
men-of-war went in chase of a large 
ship, which proved to be a man-of- 
war, to join our fleet from England. 
Two valuable prizes were taken and 



67 



sent to Boston. A large sloop of 110 
tons, from Canada, laden with pro- 
visions and bound for Louisburg, was 
chased by one of our privateers, and 
ran on shore at the back of the light- 
house ; about fifty men made their 
escape. We got the vessel off with- 
out any damage. 

Monday, 10. This day our new 
battery at the light-house played with 
three pieces of cannon against the 
island battery. Our south planker 
swept the west platform, so that they 
could not load their cannon. The 
French would have jumped out of the 
ambuseers into the sea ; but when 
they found we had but three guns 
mounted, they fired bombs and shot 
as fast as possibly they dared to load, 
from the north flanker. It was all to 
no purpose, however; for we beat 
down part of their garrison house. 

Tuesday, 11. This day a scout of 
230 men (amongst whom I was one) 
marched out of the grand battery to 



68 



Scalteree ; we being informed by some 
prisoners, that several hundreds of 
French and Indians were coming 
down upon our camps. Two of our 
transports landed some ordnance and 
provisions at the light-house. Though 
the French at the island battery fired 
bombs and shot in the morning as 
fast as possibly they could, yet they 
did no manner of damage. Last 
night two boats came safe into the 
harbor with powder and ball. We 
had 200 men at work a-nights at the 
light-house battery. All our batteries 
fired smartly against the city, and 
with good effect. As their shot and 
bombs fell short, we imagined that 
their powder was near spent. 

Wednesday^ 12. For three nights 
past, our boats brought in provisions 
and stores from Caboruch Bay, by 
the island battery, without the least 
interruption. This day our scout of 
230 men returned from their march, 
and found the enemy were moved 



69 



off. Yesterday two men-of-war from 
England joined our fleet. The city- 
threw sixty-two bombs against us from 
three o'clock in the afternoon to eight 
the next morning, and a great num- 
ber of shot besides, which did no great 
damage. However, our bombs and 
shot beat down several chimneys and 
roofs of houses, &c. 

Thursday, 13. Yesterday the city 
fired seventeen bombs and shot 
against a small battery which we 
had erected about a mile from the 
grand battery. Five of them were 
forty-two pounders. Last night we 
carried a schooner out of the harbor. 
Though the island battery fired twenty 
odd bombs and shot likewise against 
our light-house battery, yet they did 
no damage. Our bombs and shot, 
on the other hand, did considera- 
ble execution. The ships of war 
which lay at anchor before the har- 
bor, are these that follow, viz. Com- 
modore Warren in the Superb, the 
Hector, the Altham, the Launces- 



70 



ton, the Princess Mary, the Mer- 
maid, the Chester, the Canterbury, 
the Sunderland, the Lark. The Vig- 
ilant, a man-of-war of sixty-four guns, 
taken from the French. Besides these, 
several twenty-gun ships from New 
England ; also snows, brigantines, and 
sloops of force, in all above twenty ; 
and moreover 85 transports. Twenty 
French prizes were taken to this day. 

A large privateer brigantine of 
eighteen carriage guns, and 120 tons, 
was fitted out, and was to sail the day 
we landed; but the French immedi- 
ately scuttled and sunk her in the 
harbor. 

Yesterday we got up a fine sloop 
which the French had sunk, laden 
with plank and timber, intended for 
a new platform, the foundation where- 
of w"as laid at the west part of the 
grand battery, and was to be finished 
this year; but we have saved them 
that charge and trouble. 

Friday, 14. Last night the large 



71 



mortar from Boston was conveyed to 
the light-house battery, which played 
against the island battery seven pieces 
of ordnance, and one mortar, which 
beat down not only the end of the 
garrison, but all the chimneys and 
part of the roof; as also the north 
ambuseers, and dismounted several 
guns. When the French saw a bomb 
coming, they would jump out of the 
ambuseers into the sea. As the city 
was highly disgusted at this battery, 
they fired forty-six bombs and as many 
shot. On the other hand, our several 
batteries played all day long, and 
fired 160 bombs besides shot. Lad- 
ders are at this time fitting in order to 
scale the walls of the city. A great 
number of shalloways likewise are 
now fitting in order to land men from 
the fleet, or take up men in case a 
man-of-war should be sunk as she 
came into the harbor. 

Saturday, 15. This day our whole 
fleet of men-of-war, privateers and 



72 



transports, made a gallant appear- 
ance before the harbor. A flag of 
truce came from the city, at 4 o'clock 
in the afternoon, to our camps, and 
offered to deliver up the city on the 
terms we proposed on our demand of 
the city, and the territories thereunto 
belonging, in the name and on the 
behalf of our Sovereign Lord King 
George the Second. The considera- 
tion of so important an affair was 
postponed till eight o'clock the next 
morning, at which time the flag of 
truce agreed to attend. Whereupon 
all our batteries ceased firing till far- 
ther orders. 

Sunday, 16. The French flag of 
truce came out of the city to our 
camps, at 8 o'clock this morning ; and 
it was then finally agreed and de- 
termined, by capitulation, that the 
French should have all their personal 
effects, and likewise be transported to 
France at the expense of the English. 
The said articles being thus settled 



73 



and adjusted, we have now liberty to 
march into the city with our land 
army. The men-of-war likewise, the 
privateers and transports, may now 
without interruption anchor in the 
harbor, &c., &c. 

Monday^ 17. This day the French 
flag was struck, and the English one 
hoisted up in its place at the island 
battery. We took possession early 
in the morning. We hoisted like- 
wise the English flag at the grand 
battery, and our other new batteries ; 
then fired our cannons, and gave three 
huzzas. At two o'clock in the after- 
noon, Commodore Warren, with all 
the men-of-war, as also the prize 
man-of-war of sixty-four guns; our 
twenty-gun ships; likewise our snows, 
brigantines, privateers and transports, 
came all into Louisburg harbor, which 
made a beautiful appearance. When 
all were safely moored, they proceed- 
ed to fire on such a victorious and 
joyful occasion. About four o'clock. 
7 



74 



in the afternoon, our land army 
marched to the south gate of the 
city, and entered the same, and so 
proceeded to the parade near the cit- 
adel ; the French troops at the same 
time being all drawn up in a very- 
Tegular order. Our army received 
the usual salutes from them, every 
part being performed Avith all the de- 
cency and decorum imaginable. And 
as the French were allowed to carry 
off their effects, so our guards took all 
the care they possibly could to pre- 
vent the common soldiers from pilfer- 
ing and stealing, or otherwise giv- 
ing them the least molestation. The 
guard and watch of the city, the gar- 
risons, &c., were delivered to our 
troops. 

Tuesday, 18. Last night a ship 
came against the mouth of our har- 
bor, and lay there becalmed. In the 
morning a man-of-war towed out, 
and fired two shot at her. She an- 
swered with one, and then struck. 



75 



Whereupon she was towed into the 
harbor by our boats. She proved to 
be a storeship of twenty guns, about 
300 tons, from France, and very valu- 
able, 

Wednesday^ 19. This day, upon 
the nearest computation that could be 
made, it was agreed on both sides, 
that since the English had laid siege 
to the city, &c , that nine thousand shot 
and six hundred bombs had been dis- 
charged by the English against the 
French. 

Thursday, 20. The guns being 
moved from one of our small batteries 
to the grand battery, the ambuseers 
were levelled. 

Friday., 21. The guns being moved 
from the fascine battery into the city, 
the ambuseers were levelled. 

Saturday, 22. More guns moved 
to the city. The guns likewise at the 
light-house were dismounted. 

Sunday, 23. A sermon preached 
at the grand battery from the following 



76 



words in the third chapter of Revela- 
tions : " Behold, I stand at the door, and 
knock: if any man hear my voice, and 
open the door, I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him," &c. 

Monday, 24. Very foggy. We 
heard several guns at sea. It proved 
to be Captain Rouse from Annapolis, 
with three mortars, shells, and shot. 

Tuesday, 25. A great number of 
men were employed to get up the ves- 
sels which were sunk in the harbor by 
the French the very first day we 
landed. We are in hopes they will 
prove valuable. 

Wednesday, 26. Last night we got 
off two French vessels that had been 
hauled ashore. When our men got 
up, the vessels sunk. 

TJmrsday, 27. This evening sev- 
eral shallops came in from the island 
Scatteree with French inhabitants, and 
surrendered themselves on the terms 
mentioned in the capitulation with the 
French in the city. 



77 



Friday^ 28. From this day to Jaly 
the 4th, we were preparing vessels for 
the transportation of the French in 
Louisburg to Rochport in France. 

July 4. This day eleven transports 
set sail, together with the Launceston 
man-of-war, a forty-gun ship. Captain 
Man, who was our convoy comman- 
der. 

There were several occurrences 
which were very remarkable during 
the siege. In the first place, all the 
houses in the city (one only excepted) 
had some shot through them, more or 
less ; some had their roofs beat down 
with bombs. As for the famous cita- 
del and hospital, they were almost 
demolished by bombs and shot. The 
next thing remarkable was, that from 
the first day we began the siege to that 
of our marching into the city, it was 
such fine weather, that we did not lose 
one single day in the prosecution of 
our design. And moreover, that, from 
the 17th of June to the 4lh of July, 



78 



(which was the day we sailed for 
France, with the French inhabitants,) 
it either rained or the weather was 
very foggy. Upon which a French- 
man made the following remark, that 
the Virgin Mary was peculiarly kind 
to the English, in sending them fair 
weather dm-ing the whole siege, 
and then in changing it to rain and 
fog as soon as it was over. — I shall 
conclude my Journal of the late expe- 
dition, and siege against the city of 
Louisburg, and the territories there- 
unto belonging, with the following 
addition. After we had marched into 
the city, I waited on a gentleman 
who was inviolably attached to the 
King of France in Queen Anne's 
War. This gentleman had taken the 
New England Country Galley; he 
had assisted likewise in the taking of 
seventy sail of vessels more on the 
coast of New England ; and now in 
the above-mentioned siege, he came 
out of Louisburg with fourscore and 



79 



seven men, in order to prevent our 
troops from landing, but was happily 
beat off. This gentleman, I say, told 
me, that he had not had his clothes 
off his back, either by night or day, 
from the first commencement of the 
siege. He added, moreover, that in 
all the histories he had ever read, he 
never met with an instance of so bold 
and presumptuous an attempt ; that 
it was almost impracticable, as any 
one would think, for 3,000 or 4,000 
raw, undisciplined men to lay siege 
to such a strong, well-fortified city, 
such garrisons, batteries, &c. ; " for 
should any one have asked me," said 
he, " what number of men would 
have been sufficient to have carried 
on that very enterprise, I should 
have answered no less than 30,000," 
To 4his he subjoined that he never 
heard of, or ever saw such courage 
and intrepidity in such a handful of 
men, who regarded neither shot nor 
bombs ; but what was still more sur- 



80 



prising than all the rest, he said, was 
this, namely, to see batteries raised in 
a night's time ; and move particularly 
the fascine battery, which was not 
five and twenty roods from the city 
wall ; and to see guns, that were forty- 
two pounders, dragged by the Eng- 
lish from their grand battery, notwith- 
standing it was two miles distant at 
least, and the road too very rough. 
May courage, resolution, life, and vig- 
or, be for ever conspicuous in all our 
English officers and soldiers ! for vic- 
tory, under God, depends principally 
on their care and conduct : and may 
the example of the above-named 
French captain animate us to be 
bold and daring in a just cause! In 
a word, may it induce us faithfully to 
discharge the great, the important 
trust reposed in us, by virtue of the 
commissions which we bear under 
our most gracious Sovereign Lord 
King George ! 

Should this be the happy effect of 



81 



that gentleman's example, then we 
may daily expect to make large addi- 
tions to his majesty's dominions ; 
then we may hope, with just grounds, 
to defeat the common disturber of our 
peace and tranquillity; to humble his 
pride, and make him tributary to us ; 
then, in short, we may reasonably ex- 
pect to see halcyon days throughout 
his majesty's extensive dominions, 
and secure our most excellent consti- 
tution both in church and state. 

In order to give our readers a tran- 
sient idea of the ill-treatment we met 
with at Rochefort in France, I shall 
here take the liberty, not only to tran- 
scribe a letter which I wrote on that 
subject to an intimate friend, but the 
petition which twelve of us, in behalf 
of ourselves and fellow-sufferers, 
signed, and sent in the most submis- 
sive manner to Commodore Maclie- 
marrough, who, like an inhuman sav- 
age, turned a deaf ear to our com- 
plaints, and rather added to our mise- 
ries than any ways relieved us. 



82 



[The Copy of the Letter.] 

Honored Sir, — Pursuant to your 
request, I here give you a true and 
imparlial account of the cruel and 
barbarous treatment which we met 
with from the French at Rochfort in 
France. 

On the fourth of July last, fourteen 
cartels, with the Launceston man-of- 
war, set sail from Louisburg at Cape 
Breton, for France, with French in- 
habitants. No sooner were we ar- 
rived in the roadstead of Rochfort, 
but Commodore McLemarrough,in a 
ship of seventy-four guns, obliged us 
to come to, under his stern, in thir- 
teen fathom of water. We obeyed, 
and showed our passports, which 
when he had read, he insisted that 
every master should deliver into his 
hands his particular journal. Some 
looking on it as an unreasonable de- 
maud, with resolution opposed it, but 



83 



were confined in irons on his ship for 
their refusal. Soon after, he sent for 
me on board ; and I attended accord- 
ingly. Being admitted into the cabin, 
he ordered me to sit down at his 
green table, and give an account of 
my own proceedings in writing; 
which orders I readily complied with. 
Having finished my declaration, I de- 
livered it into his hands; and upon 
the receipt of it, he told me in direct 
terms, that the cartels could expect 
no favor at Rochport; and that, as for 
my own particular part, since he was 
credibly informed by several of the 
passengers, that I had been a very 
busy, active fellow against the inter- 
est of his most Christian Majesty at 
Louisburg, in case he could find out 
any article whatever that was in the 
least contradictory to the declaration 
I had delivered, that he would send 
me to the tower. Whereupon he im- 
mediately sent on board for my trunk, 
and insisted on my giving him the 



84 



key. I did, and he took out all my 
papers, and read them over in the 
first place. After that, he broke 
open the letters which I had directed 
for London. Those, indeed, he sealed 
up again, and, having put them into 
the trunk, dismissed me. His next 
orders were, that the cartels should 
not presume to go on board their 
convoy, the Launceston, on any pre- 
tence whatever, without his permis- 
sion. He charged us likewise not to 
go on shore, and gave strict orders 
to the garrison to watch us night and 
day ; and, in case any of us attempted 
to set foot on shore, the guards were 
directed to shoot us without asking 
any questions about the matter. His 
severity, in short, extended so far as 
not to permit a boat to bring us the 
least supply of any nature or kind 
whatsoever; insomuch that we were 
obliged to live wholly on salt pro- 
visions, and drink water that was ro- 
py, and very offensive to the smell, 



85 



for above six weeks successively. 
When this cruel commodore set sail 
with his fleet, with about two hund- 
red sail of merchantmen and seven 
men-of-war for Hispaniola, another 
commodore supplied his place. On 
Sunday eve he sent out a yawl, with 
orders for all the cartels to unbend their 
sails. We did as directed, and on 
Monday morning his men came in 
their long-boat, and carried all our 
sails on shore into the garrison; which 
surprised us to the last degree, as we 
had been detained so long, and lived 
in expectation of om* passports every 
day. At this unhappy juncture, Capt. 
Robert Man, who was commander of 
the Launceston, was taken violently 
ill of a fever; and notwithstanding 
intercession was made that he might 
be removed on shore, as the noise on 
board affected his head too much, yet 
the favor was inhumanly denied him; 
and every officer in the ship besides. 
As to the poor English prisoners, 



86 



they were used in a most barbarous 
manner ; for their principal food was 
horse-beans, and about an inch of 
beef once in about twenty -four hours. 
Besides, they were so close impris* 
oned, that some of them fainted away 
for want of air ; and had it not been 
for the private charitable relief which 
they received from a good old Protes- 
tant lady, several of them must have 
been actually starved. Nay, more- 
over, when any of them were sick, 
she would visit them, and bring them 
prayer-books, and other books of de- 
votion, which she concealed in a chestj 
under ground ; and then would exhort! 
them to put their trust and confidence | 
in God, who in his own due timejj 
would deliver them out of the hands 
of their arbitrary and blood-thirsty en-i 
amies. And if any died, she wouldl 
send coffins privately by night for thel 
removal of their bodies, and buryi 
them at her own expense. One ol]' 
these poor wretches was in such aj 



87 



weak and sickly condition, that, being 
thirsty, and inclining his head to drink 
out of a stone font, he had not strength 
to raise it again, and by that means 
was unhappily strangled. All, in 
short, that lived to come on board, 
were so weak that they could scarce 
crawl upon the deck. As our treat- 
ment from the French was in every 
respect so cruel and inhuman, a peti- 
tion or remonstrance to Commodore 
MacLemarrough was drawn up, 
and signed on the 25th of August, 
1745, by twelve of us ; the purport 
whereof was as follows : 

That the petitioners were taken 
up at the city of Louisburg, in his 
Britannic Majesty's service on the 
20th of June then last past, in order to 
transport the French inhabitants of 
that city to Rochfort. 

That the petitioners were well as- 
sured by General Pepperill and Com- 
modore Warren, as also by the com- 



88 



manding officer of Louisburg, that, 
as the terms of the capitulation were 
so generous, in regard to the inhabi- 
tants, that there was no doubt to be 
made of their meeting with a like 
generous treatment in France, and 
that the petitioners would be dis- 
patched to England without delay. 

That the petitioners had been ar- | 
rived above twenty days, and that 
they and their men suffered very se- 
verely for want of fresh provisions ; 
and that great numbers of them lay 
sick; and that the cause, as they hum- 
bly conceived, was their living on salt 
provisions entirely, and drinking noth- 
ing but ropy water that was noisome 
to the smell. 

That the petitioners had been de- 
nied all manner of supplies for their 
vessels, though never so absolutely 
necessary. That, if the petitioners 
had leave to sail directly for England, 
it would be some considerable time 



89 



before they could be dispatched from 
thence. 

That, as the petitioners' return to 
New England would at best be very- 
late in the year, and their voyage by 
consequence very cold, comfortless, 
and dangerous, every day was very 
valuable to them ; and besides, that 
their being detained so long was very 
expensive. 

The petitioners therefore prayed, 
that his honor would take the pre- 
mises and their unhappy sufferings 
into his serious consideration, and 
order such relief, in regard to their 
provision, necessaries for their ves- 
sels, and their speedy dispatch, as to 
his honor should seem most meet. 

Instead, however, of meeting with 
any favor or indulgence, by virtue 
of the above petition, all the cartels 
were ordered to unbend their sails ; 
their sails were carried on shore into 
the garrisons, and the guards directed 
8 



90 



to shoot every Englishman that at- 
tempted to go on shore, without ask- 
ing any questions whatsoever. 
I am, Sir, 

Your most humble servant, 

James Gibson. 



The news of this victory arrived at 
Boston on the third of July. The 
effects it produced are well described 
in a letter from Dr. Chaney to Gen. 
Pepperell. He says : " The people 
of Boston before sun-rTse were as 
thick in the streets as on election day, 
and a pleasing joy visibly sat on every 
countenance." — "We had last night 
the finest illumination I ever wit- 
nessed. There was not a house in 
town, in by-way, lane, or alley, but 
joy might be seen in its windows. 
The night was also made joyful by 
bonfires, fireworks, and other tokens 
of rejoicing. Besides this, an enter- 



91 



tainment was given to the people. 
The 18th of July was observed 
through the Commonwealth as a day 
of thanksgiving for this event ; and it 
was universally observed in a manner 
becoming a people who saw in it the 
hand of an over-ruling Providence." 

Dr. Prince preached a sermon on 
that occasion at the " Old South 
Church," which exhibits more freely 
than any other the religious feeling 
of those engaged in it. " When they 
embarked," he tells us, " their lan- 
guage to their friends whom they 
were about leaving Avas : ' Pray for 
us, and we ivill fight for you I ' " 

After narrating the most remarka- 
ble events in the enterprise, he con- 
cludes in this somewhat extravagant 
language : " Let us not only rejoice 
in our own salvation, but let our joy 
rise higher, that hereby a great sup- 
port of anti-christian power is taken 
away, and the visible kingdom of 
Christ enlarged. Methinks when the 



92 



southern gales of Louisburg were 
opened, and our army with their ban- 
ners were marching in — the gates 
were lifted up, and the King of glory 
went in with them." 

On returning to Boston, James 
Gibson was joyfully received by his 
little family, and the citizens gene- 
rally, to whom he had rendered so 
important services. At the close of 
the siege, the treasury of the prov- 
ince of Massachusetts was completely 
exhausted. England, on hearing of 
the service rendered by the colonies, 
sent on a ship laden with specie to 
reimburse the expenses of the siege. 
The rate of indemnities was thus ex- 
pressed in a resolution passed in Par- 
liament, April 1, 1748: — 

Resolved, 1st, That it is just and 
reasonable that the several provinces 
and colonies of Massachusetts Bay, 
New Hampshire, Connecticut, and 
Rhode Island, be reimbursed the ex- 



93 



penses they have been at, in taking 
and securing to the crown of Great 
Britain, the island of Cape Breton 
and its dependencies ; therefore, re- 
solved to grant for this purpose, — 

2d, To the Province of Massachu- 
setts Bay, £183,649. 2s. 7^^ 

3d, To that of New Hampshire, 
£16,355. 136% 4d. 

4th, To that of Connecticut, £28,- 
863. 195. ^d. 

5th, To that of Rhode Island, £6,332. 
125. lOd. 

6lh, To James Gibson, Esq., on 
ditto account, £547. 155. 

The amount due Massachusetts 
and New Hampshire was all paid at 
one time, in silver and copper, there 
being sent over 215 chests of silver 
and 100 of copper. This was a great 
relief to the treasuries of the colonies. 

But the amount allowed by Parlia- 
ment to James Gibson was not paid 
with the other reimbursements, and 



94 



we have no evidence that it has ever 
been paid to this day. 

The inhabitants of the colonies ex- ■ 
pected, that, for their distinguished ! 
services, the officers in this siege } 
would be noticed and rewarded by i 
the crown. But in all this they were | 
disappointed ; the order of knighthood j 
conferred on Gen. Pepperell was all 
the mark of distinction received from 
the English government. 

The amount sent over to the colo- 
nies fell far below the actual expense, 
which is said to have amounted to 
^£500,000 sterling. The English re- 
ceived three times this amount from 
the French taken at Louisburg. 

When Mr. Gibson was in London, 
on his return from France, he left a 
bill of the amount which he had actu- 
ally given from his own purse for the 
expedition, which amounted to ^547. 
15s. 

In volume 18 and on page 223 of 
the Gentleman's Magazine, we find 



95 



in a report of the proceedings of Par- 
liament the following statement: — 

" To show the sense of the House 
of Commons in it, he gives the ex- 
penses of taking Louisburg, and ex- 
plains the article of £547 voted to 
James Gibson, Esq., who sought no 
reward for his services but a small 
office vacant in one of our planta- 
tions. But it was given to a domes- 
tic of the king, under whom Mr. 
Gibson might have enjoyed it ; but he 
refused the favor of serving under His 
Grace's serving-man." 

After his return to Boston, Mr. Gib- 
son again resumed his business, in 
which he continued several years. 
During this time, he occasionally went 
to the West Indies. 

A man in the Island of Jamaica 
had been the occasion of heavy losses 
in property to Mr. Gibson. He there- 
fore was obliged to leave his family 
in Boston, and go out to settle his af- 
fairs in the West Indies. With this 



96 

I 
man Mr. G. had some collision ; but i 
on the day he was to have returned i 
to America, he came forward, and, ■ 
acknowledging he had done him I 
much injustice, promised a satisfac- ! 
tory adjustment, and with artful dis- 
simulation invited him to dine with 
him. The invitation was accepted by 
the forgiving Gibson. He went to 
dinner, and immediately after set sail 
for the north, when in three hours he 
was suddenly taken ill, and, in great 
agony, died. Suspicions were in- 
stantly entertained that he was poi- 
soned at the dinner. 

The stroke was too severe for his 
afflicted widow, who soon died of 
grief, leaving her young and lovely 
daughter alone without a relation in 
Massachusetts. The event of her 
death was recorded in the records of 
King's Chapel in Boston, where she 
had long been a member, as occur- 
ring on the 13th of November, 1752. 
A portrait of Mr. Gibson is still in 



97 



llie possession of his descendants, set 
in a curiously carved and gilded frame 
of expensive workmanship. Also, 
his coat of arms, presented to J. Gib- 
son as a memento of respect and af- 
fection by Bishop Gibson, with the 
autograph of the Bishop on the re- 
verse of the picture. The device em- 
braces a view of land and sky, with 
three storks rising on the wing, and a 
crest from a ducal coronet. 

By the death of her parents, Mary 
Gibson was left at the age of fourteen 
an orphan, without any protection but 
such as the law provides in such 
cases. 

A man by the name of Butler was 
appointed her guardian, iipon whom 
the settlement of the property de- 
volved. 

This person placed Mary under the 
care of the Rev. Mr. Niles of Brain- 
tree, with whom he made an agree- 
ment that she should receive a good 
9 



98 



education, and left funds in his hands 
for this purpose. 

It was most providential for Mary, 
that she was thus placed under the 
guidance of so excellent a man. 

Having thus disposed of the young 
orphan, Butler returned to manage 
the property, of which she was the 
only heir, in a manner suited to his 
corrupt and fraudulent designs. 

The laws of probate in the infant 
colonies being slightly managed at 
that time, Butler rendered the estate 
of Gibson insolvent! 

While a member of Mr. Niles's 
family, Mary imbibed those religious 
principles which ever after influenced 
her life. She was early united to a 
gentleman by the name of Hayden, 
and became a member of the church 
at Brain tree. 

She lost her husband, however, a 
short time after her marriage. 

She was subsequently united to 
Nehemiah Blanchard, and became 



99 



the mother of three daughters. Her 
husband made great exertions to ob- 
tain a portion of the property so frau- 
dulently disposed of by her guardian 
Butler. 

This man seemed to be followed 
by the judgment of God, and when 
thrown into jail for some crime, sent 
for Mary, now Mrs. Blanchard, and, 
while suliering much mental remorse, 
confessed he had robbed her ; at the 
same time delivering to her certain 
papers, relating to her father's prop- 
erty, some of which w^as in lands ly- 
ing in a place then called Slroud- 
waler, near Portland, Maine, and 
other lands in Maine. These papers 
are still extant. 

Mr. Blanchard made a journey to 
the province of Maine, for the pur- 
pose of ascertaining the value of a 
tract of land owned by Mr. Gibson. 
But while attempting to cross the 
Kennebec River on the ice, in the 
spring time of the year, he fell into an 



im 



air-hole m the river, and was drowned. 
'Uis valise was found on the ice, near 
the spot where he disappeared. 

Mrs. Blanehard, disheartened at the 
loss of her husband in this unhappy 
manner, and so unfortunate in obtain- 
ing any portion of her father's estate, 
desisted from any further attempt to 
recover it; trusting herself in the kind 
care of the widow's God, never after- 
ward attempting to make use of the 
papers in her possession. 

A third time was she united in 
marriage, to Dr. Carter, and removed 
to Charlestown, to lay in the m-ave 
her third husband! 

She spent most of the remainder of 
her life with her daughter ; and after 
having endured the trying fortunes of 
a varied life, with a firm and un- 
changing reliance in the wise and 
good Director of the Universe, she 
died universally esteemed, in the 
eighty-eighth year of her age, in Ban- 
gor, New York. 



101 

The son-in-law of this lady, who is 
now living and eighty-four years of 
age, affirms that, in the year 1790, he 
fovind on the leaf of an old magazine, 
which was sent to the widow Mrs. 
Blanchard, an advertisement, author- 
ized by the British Parliament, stat- 
ing that, if there were any heirs of 
James Gibson, Esq., in the United 
Slates, the British government had 
money for them, awaiting their plea- 
sure. 

The gentleman above alluded to, 
residing in the State of Vermont, 
commenced jDreparations for going to 
England, and endeavoring to recover 
the debt so rightfully due to James 
Gibson. But for want of means at 
the time, he gave it up, and it has been 
suffered to lie dormant ever since.^ 

* This gentleman, son-in-law to the only heir 
of James Gibson, says that there resided a family 
in Boston by the name of Perkins, members of 
the Old South Church in that city, who knew 
more than any one in America of the history of 



102 

James Gibson. With the hope of finding a I 
more complete account of his life than that now 
in our possession, we have endeavored to find the ! 
descendants ofsuch a family; but all these efforts; 
have hitherto been fruitless. Should the peru- 
sal of this little sketch be the occasion of re- 
covering any information that would add a sm- 
gle historical fact to the incidents here narrated, 
the descendants would be greatly obliged. Any 
such communication addressed through the Bos- 
ton Post Office, would reach them directed to 
L. D.J. 



Memoria Technica; 

Or, the Art of Abbreviating those Studies which give 
the greatest labor to tlie Memory ; including Num- 
bers, Historical Dates, Geography, Astronomy, Gravi- 
ties, &c. ; also, Kules for Memorizing Technicalities, 
Nomenclatures, I'roper Names, Prose, Poetry, and 
Topics in general. Embracing all the available Rules 
found in Mnemonics or jMnemotechny, of Ancient 
and Modern Times. To which is added a Perpetual 
Almanac for Two Thousand Years of Past Time and 
Time to Come. Adapted to the u.se of Schools — to 
be used as an aid to the studies of History, Geogra- 
phy, &c. &c. By Lorenzo D. Johnson. Second edi- 
tion, revised and improved. Price, fifty cents. 



In presenting to the public the "Memoria Technica," 
which, in some respects, may be said to contain a new 
theory of instruction, the publishers beg leave to direct 
attention to some of its peculiarities. 

Jt is the first work of the kind which has ever been 
prepared for the use of Schools; although it is true 
that Whelpley and Worcester, in preparing their Com- 
pends of Universal History, (for the want of something 
better,) introduced an abstract of Gray's System of 
Mnemonics, which, like Gouraud's, relates only to the 
memory oi figures. 

Heretofore, the professors of Mnemonics, instead of 
directing their elforts to promote general education, 
liave reserved to themselves the privilege of explaining 
the bases of their systems by public lectures, and to se- 
lect classes at charges (|uite exorbitant. This work is 
so arranged and simplified, that every school teacher 
may him.self become " I'roiessor " of all the Mnemonics 
lliat can be made available to the pupils under his care. 

The Figure Alphcibet is also SO constructed that no one 
can thoroughly learu it without becoming familiar with 



the analyses of sounds and articulations, as taught by j 
the most distinguished rrofessors. 

This work is not intended to take the place of any 
school book now in use, nor is the system calculated to 
supersede any study now pursued in schools, but intro- 
duced as an auxilary to them all. 

As a demonstration of the wonderful aid to the mem- 
ory which may be deri\ed from a knowledge of this 
system, it is only necessary to give the result in the case 
of a boy, now fourteen years of age, (who has been em- 
ployed most of his days in a Cotton Factory,) as a 
specimen of what others who study the system may ac- 
complish. This lad has frequently, in public assemblies, 
and will at any time, on being called upon, answer 
more than six thousand questions where the answers 
are contained in figures, embracing topics in History, 
(ieography, Astronomy, the dates of Discoveries and 
Improvements, and in Biography. 

In BoTANv, he will give the class and order of any 
one of 160;)/<i)!<.«, according to Linna' us, a.iid the senti- 
nmnt assigned to it in the Ijanguage of Flowers. 

Memort lie will commit as many names of a mis- 
cellaneous audience as any one may please tocalloffto 
him, and will lehearse them in tlie order in which they 
were gi\ en, or at random, when the number ot the name 
is given. 

I'lie work contains a vast amount of important infor- 
mation ; which, aside from its value as a system of in- 
struction, renders it, as hsis been justly said by many 
who ha\e examined it, well worth the price of the work 
as a mere book of reference. 

GOULD, KENDALL & LINCOLN, Tublishers, 

59 Washington street. 

The Memoria Tochnica is already introduced, as a 
te.vt-book, into several of the Boston Schools. 



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